Reading Time: 4minutesSteven Johnson discusses concepts in his book Where Good Ideas Come From. Here is his speech to the TED conference. I learned from Steven that the coffee shop came along in Europe at a time when most folks drank wine or beer with everything. He joked about how sobering up around Benjamin Franklin helped and brought folks together for dialogue. He said Sotheby’s was first a coffee shop that grew into an insurance company.
I just spent two days with some of the coolest marketing experts. Here are some of the folks I met and links to their work.
Barry Schwartz, author of Practical Wisdom and The Paradox of Choice, spoke to the group about the negative effects of having too many and not enough choices.
After hearing a few speakers, there were some conflicts, but the past few days were very mind-stretching. These would not have been people I would typically seek out to listen to, which is one reason I love what I do. People pay me to cover their events, and I hear people outside my interests who stretch me.
Julie Ask is the VP and Principal Analyst for Forrester Research. Julie talked about the key consumer and mobile technology trends, highlighting the opportunities to engage our customers and explore an approach to developing and deploying a mobile strategy that supports business and marketing objectives and delivers value to our customers.
Julie Ask stated that mobile is quickly becoming a major player in the market. At this point, only about 23% of phone users are using their smartphones for most of their computer needs, but she sees this number growing.
Aiden Tracey is the CEO of Mosaic Sales Solutions, one of North America’s fastest-growing and leading privately held agencies. He discussed how old marketing rules are rewritten by new technology and empowered consumers. Marketers must closely examine their current go-to-market strategies to evaluate the approaches that truly deliver ROI.
Aiden Tracey showed how the introduction of technology changed marketing and business. This graph shows the resulting impact of the introduction of radio, TV, Cable, and the web.
Tom Asker, Author and Brand Strategist, discussed unlocking hearts and minds in today’s idea economy. At the core of his thesis is that there are invisible metaphysical doors to people’s hearts and minds. More importantly, some specific keys and designs will unlock these doors.
All the speakers addressed the idea that we no longer live in a commodities market. We live in an experiential market. While some even talked about how the entire Walt Disney World is an experience and not so much a commodity, they pointed to more and more things that today drive higher sales growth are linked directly to an experience the company provides. A good example of this is Starbucks. One presenter commented that he heard the CEO of Maxwell House say that nothing new had happened to coffee in the last 15 years. The CEO was still thinking about the commodity of the coffee itself and not the experience that Starbucks had brought to the industry.
David Butler, VP Global Design, The Coca-Cola Company, talked about how design is used to create competitive advantage. He used the example of how kids need to brush their teeth for 2 minutes, and they found a product that played a 2-minute song that his daughters would use to time their brushing. This creative solution was a system that addressed an issue. Coke’s new 100-plus flavor fountains are something Coke has created to help create a system that offers variety for the customer.
Take what your company does that ends in ING and make a list of it—things like roasting or cooking. Then, think of new words you have not considered about your company, and make up a new word with ING. I might write photographing, capturing, and things related to taking pictures. Then, I would create new words like “storying,” “vizwording,” and so on. This is how I see myself helping folks tell their stories by combining words and visuals.
You can tell from the expressions of the attendees at the conference that this was an enjoyable experience.
If you want to be the next Starbucks, Google, or Facebook business success, study them, and you will discover that they are all creating experiences and are not just commodities. What kind of experience are you making for your customers?
Everyone was eager to collaborate and interact with each other.
Looking for the light and how it naturally appears is a way photographers train their eyes.
An étude (a French word meaning study, French pronunciation: [eˈtyd], English pronunciation: / ˈeɪtjuːd /), is an instrumental musical composition, most commonly of considerable difficulty, usually designed to provide practice material for perfecting a particular technical skill. —Wikipedia
I grew up playing trumpet, and after learning your scales, I learned études. Each one focused on a particular skill, and as they became more difficult, I thought they were just a way to torture a musician, but they were like tongue twisters for the musician.
Every trumpet player will, at some point, acquire the famous Arban book. The Arban Method is a complete pedagogical method for students of trumpet, cornet, and other brass instruments. The original edition was published by Jean-Baptiste Arban in 1864 and has remained in print since. It contains hundreds of exercises, ranging enormously in difficulty. The method begins with basic exercises and progresses to advanced compositions, including the famous arrangement of the Carnival of Venice.
For me, specific light patterns and objects help create a mood. Reading the Sunday Paper with a cup of coffee sets a mood for me. Does it do something for you?
While professional musicians practice every day for 6 to 12 hours, so too must professional photographers. They must learn to see. They may not use a camera all the time, but they must learn to see with an inquisitive eye.
A shaft of light was coming through an opening in the trees on our back porch. The branches created a pattern that left the entire scene unilluminated. When light is uneven, it draws attention to the highlights.I love a cross light. It highlights texture and adds depth to a scene.
You need to practice to perform as a musician does. They draw on all their practices to play the music with such artistry that its nuances are evident, even though they had never seen it. But in reality, they had, in a way, seen the music. All those scales and études, along with other performances, are being drawn upon. Their well is deep because of the time they devote to their practice.
I appreciate the backlit clouds at sunset.
Most of the music in movies and TV shows isn’t rehearsed before it is recorded. That would just be too expensive to play through the music a few times with professional studio musicians. They know how to play the music as written and, with their experience, can bring it alive.
The professional photographer doesn’t practice a few times, taking your portrait, and then says OK, this is for real. No, they perform right away.
If you photos are not that great–have you considered you might not have practiced? I know my trumpet teacher would ask how much I practiced when they heard me play–it was a good sign I wasn’t doing it right if he asked me that question.
I love the low angle, use of flash off camera, and great expressions
Today is one of those days that you have got to get outside in Atlanta. Clear skies and most of the day in the 80s. During the morning, before it got warmer, I enjoyed capturing these moments at a local college.
Low angle to pick up on the blue sky and the architecture in the background
We didn’t have to go and find students and bring them outside for us to photograph them; no, they were everywhere today. Laptops were out in the sun, which isn’t easy to see in, to enjoy this weather.
Fill flash, and great expression makes the photo for me
I believe that the reason we were getting great shots is the weather brings out the best in folks. When it rains, I don’t see bright smiles but gloomy expressions. They match the weather to me. People bundle up and cover their faces with scarves when snow is on the ground.
Back-lit will help rim light the subject, and then using flash off the camera to the right of the issue enables you to see those wonderful expressive moments between friends.
Clothing can make or break a shot. The dental school students look great in their bright blue outfits with all the green landscaping around them.
Back-lit creates that excellent rim lighting and the flash off to the side helps again fill the shadows so you can see their expressions, enabling you to understand how these are good friends.
I cannot take the type of photos you see here without a photo assistant. I call them “voice-activated light stands.” They know where to point the lights and help them move along with the subjects, as in these photos of people walking toward me.
Every business uses signage to help in branding them. I like to tie their people to their brand, as I have done here.
Clayton State University found out this year that research shows they primarily compete with Georgia State University for their students. Georgia State University is an inner city school so Clayton State University will play up its beautiful green lush campus. When high school seniors look at those college brochures, they want them to see how they are different.
You don’t just take one photo; you take lots of pictures. Which image would you use, this one or the one above?
With cooler days of the fall starting to creep up on us, get outside on these days and take photos. Better yet, give me a call, and I will make them for you.
Compare these photos that use flash to the one below without the flash.
I put these two photos to show how when you don’t use a flash on a sunny day at about noon; you will make people become like a number rather than a person; because they are most often in shadows. Compare these two photos. Both are strong visually, but they say something different.
Here the person is a silhouette and becomes symbolic to me where the photo above the person is someone.
T.J. Fischer, Bravo Company Commander, talks with some of his staff during a light moment when Knobs are checking in at The Citadel on the first day.
From Wikipedia: Street photography is a type of documentary photography that features subjects in candid situations within public places such as streets, parks, beaches, malls, political conventions and other settings.
Street photography uses the techniques of straight photography in that it shows a pure vision of something, like holding up a mirror to society. Street photography often tends to be ironic and can be distanced from its subject matter, and often concentrates on a single human moment, caught at a decisive or poignant moment. On the other hand, much street photography takes the opposite approach and provides a very literal and extremely personal rendering of the subject matter, giving the audience a more visceral experience of walks of life they might only be passingly familiar with.
The “Red Sash” is what the Cadre wears at the Citadel. Cadre members are cadets who train the incoming fourth-class cadets and are considered to be in high standing academically and militarily.
I love “Street Photography” because it captures those moments when people are so caught up in life that they forget about you. The best photos I find are those of people with their closest friends and family.
One of the places I have enjoyed shooting the most over the past four years has been The Citadel. Our son graduated in May, but we were vacationing nearby on the Isle of Palms and went by for Matriculation Day. Dorie, my wife, enjoys volunteering.
Alpha parents wait with their Knobs things as they check in with the Cadre. The light blue shirt is for parents who are volunteering at Citadel. Their cadets have already been through their Knob year.
The volunteers are parents of current and former cadets at The Citadel. They vividly remember dropping their sons and daughters off for the first time. The Knobs, as they refer to the first-year students at The Citadel, will immediately undergo what they call “Hell Week.” Compared to the other service academies, The Citadel’s “fourth class system” is the longest of all.
Sue Reigerix talks with her daughter Rachelle Reigerix, Athletic Cadre Commander, on Matriculation Day 2011 at The Citadel.
Now that I am a graduate, I can see much better with my 20/20 hindsight. I believe that the higher the commitment to something a person undertakes, the more involved their friends and family become in their endeavor.
We are now entering the next stage of being a military officer’s family. Already, I am seeing how families all bond in ways that graduates who go into civilian life don’t experience in the same way.
Knob is checking in for the first time. I love seeing the eyes look around. He will soon learn to do this using peripheral vision.
While street photography is fun for me, the photos reveal more about people than I ever thought possible. I think in these few photos, you see a bit of life in just a few frames.
My favorite thing is also sharing these moments with those in the photos.
Remember to get these “Street Photography” images, you have to have your camera with you. The photo that got away is the one you didn’t have your camera for.
You need to understand what you need for each category over a year.
Knowing the costs of doing business is step two of learning how to quote a price to someone when they ask you, “How much do you charge?”
In step one, you should have devised an annual figure for your living expenses in step one. For example, if you live in a gated community and drive a premium vehicle, you can see that what you have to charge to pay your bills will impact your prices for your clients.
The other extreme I often encounter when teaching folks how to figure their prices is if they are in college or live at home. If they use their actual expenses for their annual salary, they will have to live with Mommy and Daddy for the rest of their lives. If you are one of these folks, then take some time and research what it would cost you to be alone. A few things will significantly change for those under 25 if they are alone and not with their parents.
Housing costs
Car Insurance
Health Insurance
These three items will be much more expensive if you do this alone.
I suggest going to the NPPA website and plugging in your figures. However, there is a better reason to go to the website than just using it as a calculator. Beside each item, there is an i-button. You have to be a member these days to access this calculator.
Telephone
Utilities
Internet Connection
Auto expenses
Computer
Adjust your home budget. You will need to revisit your “Annual Salary” and most likely realize you can now take home less for your home budget because some of this shifted to your “Business Expenses.” Revisiting your budget items will slightly affect the rates that you must charge.
A little guessing Determining the average job or assignment you will do with your business would be best. I found this difficult, but you can change this later if needed. It is the most challenging thing to approximate for several reasons. For example, I might do some photo shoots in a year.
Headshots
College Recruiting
Corporate events
NGO editorial coverage
Magazine features
News coverage for wire service
The prices for each of these are different for various reasons. First, they don’t all take the same amount of time. But, more importantly, I am an expert in some of these, and my competitors cannot compete head-to-head with me with all my clients.
The basic idea is that once you have figured out how many of these assignments you will do a year, you will guess what an average job entails. Next, take the same list and indicate how many you will do in a year. Besides that, how long does it take you, on average, to complete the work?
Headshots (100) x [2 hours] = 200
College recruiting (15) x [20 hours] = 300
Corporate events (12) x [20 hours] = 240
NGO editorial coverage (10) x [30 hours] = 300
Magazine features (15) x [8 hours] = 120
News coverage for wire service (20) x [3 hours] = 60
Total “billable” hours a year of 1220 divided by 8 hours a day gives you 152.5 days of “billable” time.
Now, this is a figure when you are starting maybe 30 days that you can find work in a year.
RED ALERT!!!
You will need to assume that you either 1) have saved enough money to offset your lack of jobs until you get enough jobs or 2) have another job.
A successful photographer will likely have around 100 “billable days” of work in a year. Using the 152.5 days of work a year will give you a $ 589.18-day rate if you use the default numbers in the NPPA calculator–DON’T DO THIS–use your numbers. For illustration, this would give you a $73.65 per “AVERAGE” hour rate that you “MUST” charge at the minimum, or your business model will be upside down.
I say average because, on some jobs, you can charge more since you might have little or no competition or the going rates in the market allow for a higher rate.
Don’t Quote Hourly Rates This exercise is to help you know your costs, not to give you the rate to quote. Combine it all Now that you know your “Cost of doing business,” you will combine this with actual expenses associated with a job. Here are some of those expenses you will add to your base:
Travel Expenses
Prints/CDs/Online Fees
Shipping Costs
Photo assistants
Makeup artists
Food costs (snacks for day-long shoots, for example)
These expenses are not an exhaustive list, but this will go on top of your $589.18 if it is a day-long shoot.
Usage Fees I discussed how to calculate these earlier, and this will go on top of the $589.18 plus expenses that will give you some idea of what to quote.
Trade-outs While you have everything to quote a job and are ready, some things are negotiable. For example, if a client gives you 50 copies of the coffee table book you did for their organization, you could trade this out for a lower price because you can now offset some advertising costs. You can then give these books to potential customers, helping you land a new client.
I know some photographers who trade out the retail value of their services, say with a restaurant. They give them $2,000 worth of photography for $2,000 worth of food. It is a win-win because the business costs maybe $1,000 for the photographer and only $1,000 for the restaurant. The photographer takes potential clients out for dinner at the fine dining restaurant, and it helps them seal the deal. The photographer just saved $1,000 in expenses for overhead.
Summary If you know these figures, you will feel confident that you can pay your bills doing the job when quoting prices. You also will feel that you did the right thing when they offer you less than your rates for a job and you turn them down. Finally, once you have the numbers, you can still be creative to develop solutions that make you the right fit for a job.
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